CBOE sues rival over automated trading patents

The Chicago Board Options Exchange has sued International Securities Exchange LLC for at least $525 million, accusing its rival of infringing three patents related to an automated options trading system.

In a complaint filed Monday in the U.S. District Court in Chicago, CBOE said the patents were issued in 2008, 2011 and 2012 and cover systems to monitor quote risk and automatically adjust quotes when risk exposure gets too high.

The Chicago-based unit of CBOE Holdings Inc. said these methods are "crucial to market maker participation" and that ISE, a unit of Deutsche Boerse AG, has deprived it of profit and royalties by infringing its patents.

CBOE is seeking a minimum of $525 million to cover lost profit and reasonable royalties. It is also seeking triple damages if any infringement is deemed willful.

Molly McGregor, a spokeswoman for ISE, declined to comment.

Both exchanges have fought each other for years over a range of intellectual property issues.

Less than three weeks after the May 7 federal appeals court ruling, an Illinois state appeals court upheld a ban on ISE from listing Standard & Poor's 500 index options, one of CBOE's most profitable products, and Dow Jones Industrial Average options.

The case is Chicago Board Options Exchange Inc. v. International Securities Exchange LLC, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 12-09085.